Adjustable reed for wind instruments



March 19, 1940. c. B. MALBON 2,193,976

ADJUSTABLE REED FOR WIND INSTRUMENTS Filed Dec. 29, 1938 a E 60W ,eJuwaw,

Patented Mar. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES A i'Ei IT OFFIi'ZE ADJUSTABLE REED FOR WIND INSTRUNIIENTS 7 Claims.

This invention relates to certain improvements in reeds for the mouth piece of saxophones and clarinets, or wind instruments of like character.

In practice some players of these instruments prefer a stiff reed, while others prefer a reed of medium stiffness and still others prefer a soft reed. As it is diificult to tell from inspection how stiff a reed actually is, and as this quality can only be determined by tests in the instrument, it is not unusual for a player to purchase half a dozen reeds and to make tests to ascertain which he prefers.

Moreover, when used, a reed becomes wet so that its stiffness is decreased, and as a result players often frod it necessary to change the reed which is being used for one which is dry.

The object of my invention is to provide a reed which is adjustable as to its stiffness or freedom of vibration, so that freedom of vibration may be decreased to any desired or necessary extent without changing its vibration-frequency, or pitch.

I accomplish this object by providing the reed with a longitudinal slot in the middle portion of its inner side which extends from the base or non-vibrating end of the reed and is tapered in depth at its opposite end, so that the groove terminates in an inclined surface at a point slightly beyond and close to the point where the reed ceases to vibrate when in and I further provide an adjustable wedge which is" slidably fitted to said slot and when inserted therein bears on the reed at the point where the inclined portion of the slot emerges to the surface of the reed, whereby the pressure of the wedge on the reed at said point, when the re d is clamped to the mouthpiece will depend on the position of the wedge which pressure may be increased or diminished by varying the longitudinal position of the wedge, and as the pressure is always applied to the reed at the same point in all positions of adjustment thereof, the freedom of vibration of the reed will be increased or diminished without varying its vibration-frequency, or pitch.

For a more complete disclosure of my invention reference is now made to the following specification, in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are views in plan and side e1evation of a common form of saxophone mouthpiece provided with a reed embodying my invention.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view at line 3---3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of the back side of the reed.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view at line 5-5 of Fig. 4..

Fig. 6 is a detail View of the wedge slide which is employed.

Figs. '7 and 8 are detail sectional views on an enlarged scale, taken at line l? of Fig. l and illustrating positions of the parts before and after the reed is clamped. Y Fig. 9 is a similar detail view illustrating a different position of the wedge slide.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of the back or inner side of a modified form of reed and wedge slide which, in some respects, is considered preferable.

In the drawing a common form of saxophone mouthpiece is illustrated which consists essentially of a main body portion it and a clamp ll for clamping the reed against the body of the mouthpiece. It will be understood that the particular type of mouthpiece which is employed is immaterial.

I further provide a reed 22 of common form, which is made of wood especially suited to the purpose, and, according to my invention I provide a groove i l .in the inner side of the reed, or the side which is placed next to the body l8 when in position thereon, said groove being located at the middle portion of the reed and extending longitudinally thereof from its base or non-vibrating end, to a point adjacent the opposite end of the non-vibrating portion or the point at which the vibration of reed when in use practically ceases. The groove is of uniform depth from the base end to a at a short distance from the opposite end of the nonvibrating portion from which point its depth decreases, and forms an inclined, or wedge shaped bottom portion, or face if, which terminates at a point !6 at the surface of the reed, this point being in the vibrating portion slightly beyond the point where the vibration of the reed ceases when in use. V

I further provide a wedge shaped slide it, of flexible resilient material, such as wood, said slide being shown in detail in Fig. 6, and being slidably fitted to the groove 14 of the reed. Said slide is of substantially the same width and thickness as the width and depth of the groove throughout the greater portion of its length, except that one end portion is tapered or wedge shaped on one side, as indicated at 2 1?, so that its thickness is reduced to a relatively thin end portion. The opposite side of the slidefrom the tapered side is straight as indicated in Fig. 6.

" able noise.

In use the reed is first placed in position on the mouthpiece in the usual manner and the clamp is not fully tightened, the slide is then inserted in the groove tapered end first and is pushed in until its end is deflected by the inclined bottom portion iii of the groove, so that one side bears on the point I6 of the reed. If the slide is pushed in still further its tapered end will extend beyond this point without touching the reed, as shown in Fig. '7, in which position the slide is shown as having its straight side next the bottom of the groove, so that its straight side bears on the point l6 when its inner end emerges from the groove. In this position it will be noted that the slide only bears against the bottom of the groove near the base end of the reed, in addition to bearing on the reed at point it, see Fig. 7. The clamp is then tightened, bending the slide and pressing it down into the groove, as shown in Fig. 8, with the result that the pressure of the slide against the point iii of the reed is substantially increased. As the slide is sprung, or bent slightly, its pointed end will be thrown still further away from the back side of the reed. In this position the stiffness of the reed will be substantially increased or its freedom of vibration will be reduced. The reed will then usually be tested and if increased stiffness is desired the clamp will be loosened slightly and the slide pushed in still further, and then the clamp will again be tightened.

If, on the other hand, the reed is found to be too stiff, the slide will be drawn out to some extent, or if still greater reduction in stiffness is desired, the slide will be removed and placed in the opposite position in which its inclined side ill will bear against the point 3, as indicated in Fig. 9, so that when the clamp is tightened the stiffness of the reed will only be slightly increased. It will thus be apparent that by varying the position of the slide the stiffness of the reed may be increased from nothing to a quite substantial degree, but that, in all positions of adjustment of the slide it will bear on the reed at the same point, viz. the point It. In consequence while the freedom of vibration of the reed will be varied, its frequency of vibration or pitch will not be varied, but will remain the same in all positions of adjustment of the slide.

When the reed becomes wet from the mouth of the player, its stiffness will be reduced and this reduction in stiffness may be readily compensated for by loosening the clamp and pushing in the slide further and then clamping it again.

It will thus be apparent that any increase in stiffness of the reed which may be desired by player may be readily secured.

While the previously described construction is in some respects considered preferable, on account of the fact the slide may be adjusted and readjusted without removing the reed from the mouth piece, it is necessary that the slide be closely fitted to the groove, as any slight leakage of air past the slide is liable to cause objection- As shown in Fig. 1B, the necessity of having the slide very tightly fitted to the groove, and the possibility of leakage of air past the slide may be avoided by having the groove 22 in the reed 23 terminate at a short distance from the non-vibrating end of the reed and by having the slide 24 of no greater length than the groove. Otherwise the construction and operation is exactly the same as that already described.

With this arrangement, as the back side of the reed is clamped against the flat surface of the mouth piece, there is no possibility of leakage of air between the reed and the mouth piece at the non-vibrating end of the reed, the construction beyond the end of the slot being exactly the same as in the ordinary reed. The only disadvantage of this construction, as compared with that already described, is that it is necessary to remove the reed from the mouth piece in order to readjust the slide. This does not present any serious difiiculty, as the reed, after the slide has been readjusted, will be held against the mouth piece by the fingers until it is clamped.

On the other hand, the possibility of air leakage past the slide is not only avoided, but if, it should be found that the reed is satisfactory without increasing its stiffness the slide may be entirely removed and the reed will still be usable.

While the slide is preferably made of the same or similar material as the reed, I have ascertained that satisfactory results may be secured with other materials, such as Celluloid, or steel. Usually the same slide may be used indefinitely. The width of the groove and of the slide may be varied from the dimension shown and satisfactory results may be secured if the groove and slide are not located exactly in the middle of the reed, although the middle location is pre ferable.

I claim:

1. a reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instrument having a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at the opposite end, and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side, the bottom of which terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed adjacent the point where the vibrating portion joins the non-vibrating portion, and a slide adapted to be adjusted in said groove and to bear against the side of the reed at the point of termination of said inclined face, to vary the freedom of vibration of the reed when clamped thereto, without varying its vi bration frequency.

2. A reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instrument having a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at the opposite end, and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side which extends from the non-vibrating end of the reed and terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed slightly beyond the opposite end of the non-vibrating portion, and a slide fitted to said groove and adapted to bear against the side of the reed at said point of termination of said inclined face when clamped against the reed.

3. A reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instru- 4 ment having a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at the opposite end, and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side which extends from the non-vibrating end of the reed and terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed slightly beyond the opposite end of the non-vibrating portion, and a slide of resilient material adjustable in said groove and adapted to bear against the side of the reed at said point of termination of said inclined face when clamped against the reed.

4. A reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instrument having a non-Vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at the opposite end, and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side which extends from the non-vibrating end 01 the reed and terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed slightly beyond the opposite end of the non-vibrating portion, and a slide fitted to said groove and having a tapering end portion adapted to bear against the side of the reed at the point of termination of said inclined face when clamped against the reed.

5. A reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instrument having a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at the opposite end, and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side which extends from the non-vibrating portion and terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed adjacent the inner end of the vibrating portion, and a slide of resilient material slidably fitted to said groove and having one side straight and one end portion at the opposite side inclined to a relatively thin end portion, said slide being adapted to be engaged at either its straight or inclined side with the side of the reed at the point of termination of said inclined face therein and to be clamped thereagainst to vary the freedom of vibration of the reed.

6. A reed for the mouthpiece of a wind instrument comprising a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at its opposite end and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side which extends from a point at a short distance from the non-vibrating end and terminates at the surface of the reed slightly beyond the opposite end of the non-vibrating portion, and a slide adjustably mounted in said groove and adapted to bear against the side of the reed at the point of termination of the groove in the vibrating portion of the reed when clamped against the reed.

7. A reed for the mouthpiece of a Wind instrument comprising a non-vibrating portion at one end and a vibrating portion at its opposite end and having a longitudinal groove in its inner side 'svhich extends from a point at a short distance from the non-vibrating end and terminates in an inclined face at the surface of the reed in the vibrating portion thereof closely adjacent the adjacent end 0 the non-vibrating portion, and a slide of no greater length than the groove, adjustably mounted therein and adapted to bear against the side of the reed at the'point of termination of said inclined face when clamped against the reed. v

CLIFFORD B. MALBON. 

